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Societies 101

2. Who is This Training Aimed At?
Information about finance and budgets primarily concern Presidents and Treasurers, but they are relevant to all executives, since most things you will do involve money.
All executives should be involved in creating and developing strategies and in setting and following objectives – this is a sensible use of resources, and also creates ownership.
More specific training for different roles will be taking place in the early part of , including training provided by the SU and Creative Studios, and the Societies Guild Committee’s officers will be working with some executives to develop their roles (e.g. volunteering officers, charity and fundraising officers, events officers).
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3. What do you Need to do NOW?
Find out as much as you can from your old executive committee before they vanish – HANDOVER
Decide what direction you want your society to take next year and what you want it to achieve – ESTABLISH STRATEGIC DIRECTION
Decide how your society will achieve the things you want it to achieve – SET OBJECTIVES
Decide how you can best use your members’ money to deliver your strategy – CREATE A BUDGET
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4. What About Everything Else?
Information about procedures (room bookings, expenses, VAT info, food hygiene requirements, using venues etc.) - FAQS
Access to documentation (model constitution & code of conduct, budget forms etc.) – FAQS
Access to training presentations (Core Officer, Events, and this one!) – FAQS
Support and additional questions – SOCIETY CONVENERS and SU SOCIETIES TEAM
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5. HANDOVER

6. Why Bother? There is no need to reinvent the wheel – so don’t.
You may know what the last committee did or didn’t do, but you may not know why.
Find out - and use the knowledge to help you.
You may need to lay new foundations, but you may be able to build on what is already there.

7. STRATEGY

8. What Are You For?
Do you know what your constitution says about you? Would you recognise it if you did? Would your members?
Your AIMS should reflect the reasons your society was created - what it is trying to achieve, and for whom.
Your OBJECTIVES should describe how your society achieves its AIMS – how it goes about achieving the things it is trying to achieve, for whoever it is trying to achieve them for.

9. What Are You About?
The SU likes to think of itself as a house – it has many different rooms, with many different functions, where hopefully every member can feel ‘at home’ because all our members are part of ‘the family’.
If your society was a room in our house, what room would it be, and what would it look like?

10. What Do You Want? What is your vision for your society?
What is your members’ vision for your society?
Do either of these conflict with your purpose (what you are for) or your culture (what you are about)?
YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT YOUR MEMBERS – BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN NOTHING CAN CHANGE.

11. OBJECTIVES

12. What are your Objectives this Year?
You cannot begin to set your objectives for the year until you have answered (properly!) the three preceding questions.
Your objectives should act as a road map for you (and your members), telling you exactly what you need to do in order to realise your vision this year.
The clearer the map, the easier it is to follow – so be SMART.

13. Setting SMART Objectives
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timed

14. “ My cultural society wants to raise a lot of money for charity.”
EXAMPLE
“ My cultural society wants to raise a lot of money for charity.”

15. *A charity providing support to members of a relevant community.
SMART EXAMPLE
“We will raise a minimum of £500 for ABC Charity* by the end of Term 2 by holding fortnightly bake sales on Square 3 featuring a range of traditional cakes which our Cake Committee will take it in turns to make.”
*A charity providing support to members of a relevant community.

16. BUDGET

17. How is Societies’ Money Managed?
Every society has its own ‘account’ with the SU – and these accounts have to be managed in accordance with the SU’s Financial Regulations.
Each account is split into two funds:
Budgeted fund – holds membership money paid in the current year plus allocations of money granted in the current year by the Societies Guild.
Non-budgeted fund – holds all the money that was in your society’s account at the close of the previous year, plus any money you fundraise during the current year.

18. How May Societies Spend their Money?
Membership money can only be used to further the aims and objectives of your society, and you need the approval of the Societies Team in order to spend it.
Societies Guild money can only be used for the specific purpose for which it was given to you, and you need to apply to the Societies Guild Committee in order to access it. (We’ll tell you how to do this a little later in the year.)
Other money - money you inherited, plus anything you raise during the year, can be used for anything, so long as it benefits all your members and is legal, and you don’t need to apply to anyone to use it.

19. Membership Money & Budgets
You will need to complete a Budget Form explaining how you plan to spend the money you can reasonably expect to receive in the form of membership fees next year.
This Budget Form needs to be ed (only – no hard copies) to the SU Societies Team before the end of term, after which it will be reviewed by both your convener(s) and ourselves before it is approved.
You’ll be told soon how many members you had at the end of October last year, and at the end of Term Two, so that you know how much income you can expect to earn.
You’ll need to explain in the form how the money will help achieve your aims and objectives, and to link the requests to your aims and objectives, so that your intentions and strategy are clear.

20. FIN!